The Edmonds School District is exploring later start and end times for the district’s comprehensive high schools. The topic was first investigated in 2007 and revisited in the spring of 2016. This school year, a district committee dedicated to this topic has been meeting over the last few months.

March 16, 2017

School Start Times: No changes for 2017-18; Next Steps

Dear Edmonds School District Families –

As many of you are aware, a report was presented to us during our March 14 meeting regarding the work of our School Start Times Task Force. We have a deep appreciation for the commitment this all-volunteer group made over the last 7 months to research, discuss and make a recommendation to us. More than 150 people attended the Board meeting to share their concerns about a proposal to move all school start times forward by 25 minutes. It was the first time for our Board to listen and discuss the work of the Task Force and its recommendation. We cannot thank enough those individuals who took the time to share their views in person or through letters. It was extremely valuable feedback.

This is a very complex issue with no easy solution. There will be no change for the 2017-18 school year. As a Board, we will continue to discuss and explore options moving forward, including expanding public engagement into the process.

Furthermore, we want to re-emphasize that this discussion is about determining what is best for students at all grade levels. We want positive impacts on student learning as a result of any potential changes to our school days. We look forward to our continued discussion with our families, students, staff and community members around this important topic.

The School Start Times Task Force will make a recommendation to the Edmonds School District Board of Directors to shift all schools start times forward by 25 minutes. The recommendation comes after a year-long review, which started as a discussion during the Graduates Ready for Life Work Group meetings in Spring 2016 and came to fruition after a task force spent the last five months developing and reviewing all numerous possible scenarios and options. The group put forward a survey last month, presenting four options.

There were 6,317 survey responses – 4,019 parents, 1,187 staff, 930 students, and 181 community members. There were four options that included a “flip” model that would have had high schools and middle schools swap their start times and some elementaries starting before 8:00 am, a proposal to only move the high schools start time from 7:20 a.m. to 8 a.m. by putting a $4 million levy measure before voters to purchase the buses needed to do that, the option of shifting all schools by 25 minutes, and “status quo” – to not change anything.

The proposal to push the entire system back 25 minutes is what neighboring Northshore School District is doing. When is the appropriate and ideal time for young people in the height of their growth and development to start school is a national conversation, with many districts already having tackled the issue and adjusted start times. Seattle moved it start times last year

The survey results and a summary of the Feb. 28 task force meeting and other information from the task force are posted in the Feb. 28 information tab to the left. Dr. Murphy and representatives from the task force will present the recommendation to the School Board at its March 14 meeting. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. and is held in the Edmonds School District Educational Services Center, 20420 68th Avenue West, Lynnwood.